Objective(s): The purpose of this study was to examine the optimal reconstruction parameters for brain dopamine transporter SPECT images obtained with a fan beam collimator and compare the results with those obtained by using parallel-hole collimators.Methods: Data acquisition was performed using two SPECT/CT devices, namely a Symbia T6 and an Infinia Hawkeye 4 (device A and B) equipped with fa...

Vesicular sequestration is important in the regulation of cytoplasmic concentrations of monoamines such as dopamine. Moreover, recent evidence suggests that increases in cytoplasmic dopamine levels, perhaps attributable to changes in vesicular monoamine transporter function, contribute to methamphetamine-induced dopaminergic deficits. Hence, we examined whether striatal vesicular uptake is alte...

Three different approaches were employed to assess various markers associated with sex differences in responses to methamphetamine (MA). Bioassay measures reveal that MA treatment results in significantly greater reductions in body weight and increases in body temperature in male mice. Protein and mRNA determinations show significant increases in Bcl-2 and PAI-1 in male mice, while females show...

Dopamine afferent islands were observed in rodent caudate-putamen only during development, whereas patches with intense mu-opioid receptor (MOR) immunoreactivity were seen throughout the life. We performed direct comparison between MOR patches and dopamine islands in the caudate-putamen of rat pups, by double immunofluorescence labeling for MOR and tyrosine hydroxylase. MOR patches were include...

The dopamine transporter was labeled using a photosensitive compound related to GBR-12909, 125I-1-[2-(diphenylmethoxy)ethyl]-4-[2- (4-azido-3-iodophenyl)ethyl]piperazine (125I-DEEP). 125I-DEEP bound reversibly and with high affinity to the dopamine transport protein in the absence of light and could be covalently attached to the protein following exposure to UV light. In rat striatal homogenate...

We investigated, in mice, the influence of life experience on the vulnerability to 1-methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine (MPTP), a major neurotoxin that induces a Parkinson's disease-like syndrome in humans, and to cocaine, a potent psychostimulant that promotes drug addiction. Our findings show that adult C57BL/6 mice raised in an enriched environment (EE) for only 2 months are signific...

Human embryonic kidney 293 (HEK-293) cells stably transfected with the human serotonin (5-HT) or dopamine transporter (hSERT, hDAT), or the rat GABA transporter GAT-1 were incubated with saturating concentrations of transporter substrates (hSERT: [H]5-HT, [H]N-methyl-phenyl-pyridinium (MPP1); hDAT: [H]dopamine, [H]MPP; rGAT: [H]GABA). Uptake velocities decreased signi®cantly over time for [H]5-...

Amphetamines elevate extracellular dopamine, but the underlying mechanisms remain uncertain. Here we show in rodents that acute pharmacological inhibition of the vesicular monoamine transporter (VMAT) blocks amphetamine-induced locomotion and self-administration without impacting cocaine-induced behaviours. To study VMAT's role in mediating amphetamine action in dopamine neurons, we have used n...